


Nico doesn't like prophecies (but that's not really surprising)

by Yillia



Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Hades (Video Game 2018), Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Achilles and Orpheus make an Appearance, Crack Treated Seriously, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Crossover, Hades has Too Much Work, Happy Ending, Help, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, LGBTQ Themes, Multi, Nico di Angelo is Bad at Feelings, Prophecy, There's a Tupperware, Where is Persephone?, Why Did I Write This?, Zagreus is a little shit, no beta we die like zagreus, obviously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:07:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28527468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yillia/pseuds/Yillia
Summary: Nico di Angelo, Son of Hades, goes to God Councils in stead of his father, because Hades is overloaded. Today the council has been gathered in regards to a prophecy, claiming that Chaos is reforming, and going to destory the world. Except, that can't be right.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo & Other(s), Thanatos/Zagreus/Chaos (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 46





	Nico doesn't like prophecies (but that's not really surprising)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Really? Right in front of my salad?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16767538) by [loloisafangirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/loloisafangirl/pseuds/loloisafangirl). 



> /!\ Before reading! /!\
> 
>  **Spoilers for Hades (video game):** I'd recommand at least first clear.
> 
>  **Spoilers for Percy Jackson:** Only that characters exist (including for Heroes of Olympus),  
> there isn't really any references to whatever happens after the first book.
> 
> ##
> 
> What you need to know:
> 
> My headcanon for Greek Mythology is mostly explained in the story, but there is one thing I feel I should explain:  
> In my headcanon, Gods' powers are tied to their domains, so Poseidon and Hades wouldn't be powerful on Olympus, and Zeus refuses to go in the Underworld because he would be essentially powerless. But I make a difference between Gods (like the Olympians), and Personification of Concepts, like Death (Thanatos), or Love (Eros), who would be equally powerful anywhere they went. 'Chthonic' mostly means 'of the Underworld'. Any name that looks made up is real, you can look it up, lol.
> 
> This happens after Hades (the game), but once again the events of the game aren't really referenced, you can totally read this without having ever played it.  
> Just know that Hades is an alone dad drowning in work, but he makes dad-jokes sometimes.  
> I don't explicitely ship anyone, I stick by the canon but it isn't explicit, except for Zagreus, Thanatos and Chaos (this is polyamory), and there is no bashing of anyone, I don't do that.  
> Chaos is genderless, they use they/them pronouns, so yeah if you aren't used to this it might be confusing at first.
> 
> English isn't my first language, and I like to use fancy words even though I'm not sure of their meanings, so I apologise in advance if something sounds weird.

"Huh, no," blurts Nico, and instantly regrets it, because everyone's attention immediately snaps to him. Being stared at by anyone is bad enough, but it's nothing compared to all twelve Olympians and diverse of divine entities focusing solely on his half-mortal existence. Nico can almost feel himself shrink from the stares.

"What do you mean?" Zeus asks, deceptively calm. Nico can sense the tension in his voice, the 'you dare contradict gods?' implied in his tone. Even though he has the facts to back it up, Nico still averts his eyes.

"I mean, it's not Chaos trying to reform. Chaos has had a solid form for decades now."

Some gods are obvious in their surprise, or interest, but the main ones, the scary ones, stay impassive, and Athena just has to raise an eyebrow to prompt him to continue.

"Erm, they, um, they look, um, really not human. They can take any shape they want, I guess, but the one they use most is the one with plenty of eyes and arms."

"Like a Hecat-" Annabeth cuts herself off, slapping a hand on her mouth, but Nico shakes his head.

"No, they're like, made of ivory, or something, it's incredibly weird, and there are swirls thrown in the mix, of colors that don't exist, and their eyes are deep, like they hold the entirety of the void of the universe inside."

Zeus and Aphrodite both nod, but Athena just asks:

"And you know that how?"

And that's where Nico ducks his head and starts blushing, wishing his father would come to these meetings himself.

"Theymayormaynotbedatingmybrother."

Some people looks like they want to ask him to repeat, but Aphrodite just leans in, a worrying glint in her eyes:

"Wait, which one?"

Nico knows he looks like he's desperately trying to find an excuse not to answer, but under the pressure of so much attention on him, he simply buckles.

"... Zagreus."

All the Olympians react at the same time, and honestly, Nico is not sure Zeus knows the name of Poseidon's wife, so his brother is probably something else.

Dionysus and Ares look overjoyed, though for very different reasons; Artemis and Athena look smug; Hephaestus and Hestia both have an eyebrow raised in interest, which is more than for anything else that happened so far; Poseidon and Zeus are booming with laughter; Apollo and Hera have soft smiles, which is - a sight to behold, Nico's pretty sure that's a miracle - and Hermes is trying to look overly invested in his phone. Only Demeter looks somewhat constipated, and Aphrodite looks downright pissed.

"Wait, really?" The goddess of Love and Beauty storms, looking ethereal still. "He was supposed to end up with Thanatos!"

That shuts up everyone in the room immediately, and Hermes' uncaring response rings in the silence.

"Yeah, you noticed too."

When everyone turns to look at them both, he shrugs, and she crosses her arms, her eyes still boring into Nico like he can fix this mess he's not even responsible for in the first place.

"Erm, they kind of all are, like, dating each other. At the same time."

Aphrodite lights up like a Christmas tree, and Nico tries to suppress a wince.

"Wait, all three of them? Together?"

Nico simply nods, trying his hardest to pretend he is totally fine under such intense scrutiny.

"... So, it's not Chaos." Hebe finally says, her tiny voice breaking the silence, chewing on her pen. Honestly, she's adorable, and if it weren't for the scary glint in her eyes if you mess with her table placement, Nico might forget she's a goddess too.

"Might be, though." Zeus says. "Their current form may not be every part of Chaos that was scattered across Earth. Can you ask them if they're complete?" He adds, turning to Nico, who starts to sweat, even though he's freezing to his bones. He nods, and goes in search to his mental link with his brother.

'Nico? What's going on?'

'Sorry to bother you, Zagreus, can you put me in contact with Chaos?'

There is silence on the line for a while, because Zagreus is summoning Thanatos. All three of them spend their time shifting between worlds, they're hard to contact. Honestly, the number of times Nico has had Zagreus summon Thanatos for him, he might as well get his hand on a bell of death as soon as possible.

'I sent you Than,' Zagreus says after a while, and Nico thanks him, bracing himself for the cold and the bells.

Indeed, almost as soon as he stops talking, the air in the throne room shifts, and Thanatos materialises in a wave of cold, green, and bells.

"Nico," he greets at first, then bows to everyone else. "My Gods."

Zeus signals him to get back up, trying to hide his puzzlement, and Nico starts fidgeting.

"Hey, Thanatos, um, they had questions regarding Chaos."

"Of course," Thanatos says, perfectly professional, as always.

"Do you know if Chaos' form is complete? Have they pulled back every part of them yet?"

At this, Thanatos doesn't exactly tense, but he eyes Nico warily, and Nico shrugs, not knowing what the God is thinking of.

"No, Chaos isn't complete yet. Far from it, actually. There might be some issues regarding this in the future, but Hades, Hecate and I have been looking into it."

"Right," Zeus says, eyeing Death Incarnate warily. "We might have a problem here. See, we have a prophecy - sprouted by Apollo, no less" - At this, Apollo protests a feeble 'hey', but Zeus ignores him - "and it mostly says that Chaos is going to try and cause the end of world."

"Again," Apollo interjects, and everyone thanks him silently for his useless intervention.

Nico can't see Thanatos right now, but he knows the way he purses his lips in those kinds of situation by heart.

"Right," Thanatos repeats. "We have a plan, Lord Zeus, we are prepared for this situation. We will handle it right away."

"Not so quick." Zeus says, and he might look calm, but Nico has never been this scared in his life before. Does Zeus hate Thanatos? What is going on here?

"That's all fine and dandy," the King of Gods says, "but I can't let you plot overtaking me like that."

Nico can only imagine how taken-aback Thanatos must be right now.

"... I see." Death simply says, however, and Nico wishes he had his composure. "We are not trying to overtake you, my Lord. You free to come down and supervise our contingency plan, and change whatever you seem fitting."

"Damn right I'll do." Zeus says, his eyes looking colder by the minute.

Nico knows Thanatos is not a diplomat, just an incredibly shy God, but apparently Zeus doesn't, because he seems to think Thanatos is doing this on purpose to enrage him - and it's working.

"If you may, King Zeus," Aphrodite interjects, "Maybe we could just send Hermes? Or ask Persephone? None of us can go down there."

"I thank you for volunteering me, Aphrodite, but you know I'm overloaded and I can't extend my stay in the underworld more than I already spends there, because of my duties. You know, the ones I seem to never be doing fast enough, because there is simply too much? So complain or add on my workload, but pick one, please."

Aphrodite shoots him a look, but is cut off by Demeter.

"And leave my daughter out of this, you bimbo."

Aphrodite raises nothing more than an eyebrow, not taking the bait, and smiles amusedly back at Demeter's glare.

"Well, some half-bloods can go there, right?" Hebe intervenes. "It was eight in the prophecy, so taking out Thanatos, Zagreus, Hecate, and Hades, that leaves four half-bloods to go down there and get this situation fixed, right?"

"Not exactly, my Lady." Thanatos says, bringing the attention back to him. "Hecate and Hades are just helping us with the technicalities, they won't be there. However, you should count Chaos themselves, so it leaves five other beings mentioned in that prophecy."

"That boy should be going, obviously." Hera decides, pointing at Nico, and Nico feels compulsed to nod.

In the end, it is decided that Nico would indeed be going, as well as Jason, since Thalia wasn't available, Annabeth and Percy, because they'd already been to Hades once, and Hebe herself, as per Zeus' orders. Hestia promised the younger goddess to take care of her duties in her absence, and she nodded shyly, following Thanatos and the half-blood outside. Poseidon had feebly objected to Percy going, arguing that the boy already had been through a lot, but Zeus insisted that since they had already been to the Underworld, they were the best suited for the task, and anyway it was just supervision, no one expected them to fight Chaos. Apollo had coughed something that sounded suspiciously like 'prophecy' but had just been ignored, as usual.

Hell looks exactly like the last time they went: a blazing inferno. Thanatos teleports them directly to the entrance of the Asphodels, Nico catching Hebe before she falls to the floor in disorientation. Thanatos apologises quickly for the abrupt arrival, explaining that they have to do the rest of the journey by foot - well, he immediately starts hovering, because forbid he stains his robes.

"Hecate finally fixed the shield?" Nico notices.

"Seems like it," Thanatos sighs. "Finally."

"I thought Hades' palace was supposed to be in Asphodels?" Hebe asks, carefully watching her step.

"... This is Asphodels." Thanatos points out.

"What? What happened?"

"Zagreus," both Thanatos and Nico answer at the same time.

"You mean it isn't supposed to look like this?" Percy asks, looking around him with wild eyes.

"No, it's supposed to look like the scriptures, dull plains with ghost... asphodels. The flowers." Thanatos explains, leading them between arms of the Phlegethon.

"What happened?"

"Phlegethon's in rise, is all." Thanatos says.

"Is that possible?" Hebe asks, and Thanatos levels a stare her way. She blushes, and adds: "I mean, why did you say it was Zagreus' fault?"

"It's Zagreus' fault Phlegethon's in rise." Thanatos calmly explains, and Nico snorts.

"Will we meet him?" Hebe sounds way too eager, and Thanatos is the one to snort this time. The others collectively decide to stop asking about what the hell is going on down there at this point.

They end up at the bottom of a cliff, and Thanatos holds out a hand for Nico to take. He jumps across the liquid fire, and Thanatos helps everyone the same way, before leading them behind some rocks, into a long corridor, terribly bad-lit. He shines slightly green, due to his status of chthonic god, and Hebe shines too, golden, and closes the way behind them.

Finally, they reach the house of Hades, all in gold and red and gems and flowers, and Thanatos leads them towards the throne room. Hades looks up from his paperwork to stare at them.

"Thanatos?"

"My King," Thanatos bows. "Lord Zeus sent them to supervise Chaos' reformation."

"How quaint." Hades turns back to his desk, like he clearly couldn't care less. "Send them back."

"I wouldn't even have brought them here if it wasn't for a prophecy, my Lord."

Hades looks up from his work again, and zeroes on Hebe.

"My, a niece of mine, down there." He deadpans, looking like he really hasn't time for any of this.

"Lord Hades." Hebe greets, and he frowns.

"Call me uncle, Lord makes me feel old."

"You're old, though," a voice says from the gutters bloodied by the Styx, and everyone turns to stare at the man, one eye as red as the blood he's literally dripping all over the carpet, and the other eye greenest than any emerald in the walls. His legs end before the ankles, his feet replaced by flames licking his claves.

"Zagreus, you're back." Hades states, apparently unphased.

"Hi Dad, hi Than. Who's everyone? Why's Nico here?"

"Hi, Zag." Nico waves as the older man bends down to hug him. Thanatos is standing awkwardly to the side, and doges Zagreus' attempt at a hug.

"There is a prophecy about Chaos," he explains at Zagreus' frown. The young God sighs, and turns expectantly at his father, who waves them out, grumbling about expecting Thanatos to report later. Zagreus ushers them to the lounge, kicking out Dusa.

Once everyone is sat down, they all shuffle awkwardly, seemingly all expecting Nico to do something. Panicked, he blurts out the first thing that comes to his mind.

"Erm, I'm Nico, half-blood, son of Hades."

"Nico, we all know that." Zagreus points out, puzzled, and Nico blushes.

"I thought we could start by presentations..."

"Oh right!" Zagreus beams, slamming his fist on the table. "I'm Zagreus, God of Blood" - Nico is certain he's not the only one to hear Thanatos mutter 'and stubbornness' - "Son of Hades and Persephone. Nice to meet you, everyone!"

"Thanatos, Death Incarnate. Son of Nyx."

"I'm Hebe, the goddess of Youth and Forgiving. I'm the daughter of Zeus and Hera."

"I'm Percy Jackson, half-blood, son of Poseidon."

"Annabeth, half-blood, daughter of Athena."

"Jason, half-blood, son of Jupiter."

"Wait, Jupiter?" Zagreus asks.

"Yeah, Roman ascendant."

"Why are you here?"

"Well, Jupiter himself wouldn't come, and his only other child, Thalia, isn't available, so here I am."

"This is wild."

"So when can we meet Chaos?" Hebe asks, and Zagreus and Thanatos exchange an uneasy glance.

"I don't know where they are," Thanatos explains, pulling up his hood and standing back up. "I'm going, anyway, I have work. Fare well, everyone. Zagreus, Nico," he bows his head, before disappearing in a chime.

Zagreus looks like he wants to say something, but simply shrugs, and turn his attention back on the little group.

"Want to visit?" He beams, and Hebe looks like she'd rather explore Hell by herself than stay around him longer than strictly necessary. Annabeth looks like she's going to refuse, but Percy beams back a big bright 'Yes!' and both her and Jason sigh.

"Great! Wanna meet Achilles?"

The three half-blood rush to Zagreus, already by the door, and Nico is left alone with Hebe.

"Erm, my Lady," he starts, tentatively, but she smiles and shakes her head.

"Please call me Hebe." Nico nods, breathless.

"Do you want to see the garden?" He asks.

"Oh! Why not, but don't you have duties to take care of?"

"... Not really. Most of my duties are actually mediation and representation, like an ambassador of some sorts."

"I see," Hebe nods, "lead the way then."

They end up meeting Nyx in the garden, and the three of them talk until Nico feels his brother tug on their link. He awkwardly scuffles up, and apologises to Nyx that they have to leave. Nyx is gracious as always, her serene smile appeasing Nico like some calming honey down his throat. She assures Hebe that she'll be welcome here as long as she wishes, and bids them farewell, fading in the darkness.

Zagreus and the others are back in lounge, with Achilles and Orpheus in tow. Annabeth looks like she's having the discussion of her life with him, so Nico nods to Achilles and take a seat, not daring to bother them. Hebe looks more at ease this time around, and Zagreus sprawls a map on the table.

"Okay, so the prophecy. Anyone remembers it exactly?"

Annabeth gets it right away, obviously, and Zagreus gives the pen to Nico, not trusting his messy scrawls. Nico passes it to Jason, who writes the rhymes in a corner of the map. Achilles seems to find really funny that both Jason and Percy are named after famous heroes, and jokes that they should be grateful not to have been named after Theseus. Zagreus groans, but no one else gets it.

Zagreus spends some time explaining them what exactly is going on with Chaos, and Hebe is scribbling furiously on her own notepad.

"So your plan, as of now, is an array designed by Hecate, in case the rest of Chaos should reform, to force it to join the existing Chaos, and hope it doesn't overwrite who Chaos is?"

"Yeah, kind of," Zagreus agrees. Annabeth raises an eyebrow at him, but he doesn't even seem to notice. "Do you have any other ideas?"

Annabeth sighs, which makes Jason snicker, and Percy punches him in the ribs. Achilles is studying the map, and Orpheus is humming in the background, and it all seems so far away from the safety of the lounge.

At some point, Percy and Annabeth try to figure out the prophecy, but are immediately stopped by Zagreus and Achilles, both looking horrified, urging the young half-bloods to forget about it entirely - it'll happen, one way or the other, no need to take terrible decisions because they think it's what they are meant do. Achilles shudders, and adds that nothing good ever good comes from trying to fulfill – or avoid - prophecies.

Then Thanatos materialises in the lounge unannounced and only Zagreus doesn't flinch, immediately greeting him, kissing him straight on the mouth. Nico snickers at his own lame joke - straight on the mouth? - and Jason chokes on air. Hebe writes even more.

Thanatos looks like he was expecting it, but is still breathless, and takes a moment to compose himself. Then, he turns to everyone else, one hand still splayed on Zagreus' lower back, pushing him back into his seat. He himself seems content to hover right next to his lover.

"I talked with Chaos," he announces. "They should be here anytime now."

They all wait in silence, half expecting Chaos to manifest immediately. When that doesn't happen, Annabeth asks:

"So do you actually need us for that plan? Why does the prophecy says eight of us?"

"And why do we count Chaos in the eight?" Hebe interjects. "Chaos is mentioned separately in the prophecy, shouldn't they be accounted outside of the eight too?"

Thanatos sighs.

"Honestly, Chaos is probably the one dying. Or Zagreus."

"Yeah, I die a lot." Zagreus nods, not noticing how Thanatos pinches his lips at the words, but probably aware of it anyway.

Achilles hums, still studying the maps, apparently fascinated by the array.

"Where do you plan on doing it?" He asks, pointing at the map. Zagreus blinks, turning to Thanatos.

"We need to discuss it with Chaos, we have to figure out where's most of them in Earth. Tartarus is quite vast, we could settle there, but the ripples might be dangerous – damages could escalate quickly. And doing in on the surface might be as risky – in a different way."

"What about Asphodels? Isn't it infinite?" Hebe asks, finally looking up from her notes.

"… You've seen the state of Asphodels, my Lady…"

Hebe shyly nods, and Nico would feel bad for her if she wasn't snitching on them.

"When do you think it will be fixed, your majesty?" Orpheus adds from the door, and Zagreus shrugs, apologetic.

"Hello everyone!" The doors of the lounge bounce open, Orpheus side-steping them just in time, and someone new makes a bee-line for them – ivory and genderless, with swirls of color that don't exist: Chaos, check.

"Ae!" Zagreus springs from his seat, hugging the being.

"Hi, Chaos," Thanatos greets, not moving from his position in the air. Chaos waves at him, and takes a seat on the other side of Zagreus.

"Hello everyone! Nice to meet you all, I'm Chaos. I'm the void from which everything sprang."

There is a silence following this declaration, and Annabeth is the one to break it:

"Why do you look like this? Like, can you choose?"

Chaos nods, and leans back in their chair.

"So, from the void sprang Hemera, Nyx, Erebus and Aether, right?"

"Wait, no, I'm lost." Percy protests, and gets a look from Annabeth.

"Okay, at the beginning of the world, there was nothing, right? The endless void. Then the Earth, Gaia and Ouranos, appeared, to contrast by their stability. You know everything from these two. But from the void, other beings appeared: Hemera, the day, Nyx, the night, Erebus, the darkness, and Aether, the ether."

"Wait, does that make you… Than's grand-father, and my… wait, are we related?"

"Technically, Gaia isn't my offspring, no."

"Greek mythology is such a mess, man." Percy sighed.

"What about other primordial beings, like the Fates?" Annabeth asks, looking like she'd want to get her hand up to ask questions.

"They're from Chronus, Time Incarnate – the one that reigns over the Isles of the Blessed – and Ananke, Inevitability Incarnate – they sired the Fates, Love, all abstract concepts like that."

"Love and Beauty, you mean Aphrodite?" Annabeth goes on, devoured by curiosity.

"No, Eros, Moros, the Keres, those principles that need no one to feel them to exist, I guess."

"Doesn't one need to exist to feel love?" Jason objects.

"It's not that, it's the concept. It doesn't need anyone to do it do exist, unlike Sleep, it just exists." Thanatos explains.

"Why are you a son of Nyx, then?" Annabeth asks, and Zagreus nods approvingly.

"That's not – you don't have to be born from a specific parent to be a god or a personification of a concept, it doesn't work like that, there isn't – logic, or whatever."

"Anyway," Chaos interrupts, eager to get this explanation over with. "Initially, I'm the void. However, when Ouranos and Gaia decided to have children, or whatever, they feared that they might be swallowed by the eternal nothingness of all things, and cut me into teeny tiny pieces, reducing me to mist, that was absorbed by Gaia. So I've been trying to reform ever since – well I've had a form for a while, but between the excruciating pain and the need to exist between worlds where I wouldn't be detected, it wasn't fun."

"So Chaos, you're just like, the primordial void, right? Not chaos, in the modern meaning of the term, like just, having fun and destroying things?" Percy asks, and Chaos laughs.

"No, I mean I'm pretty chaotic, but chaos is just the opposite of cosmos – disorder opposed to order."

"Right." Annabeth is not writing any of this down, but Hebe sure is.

After the 'strategic meeting', as dubbed by Zagreus, who has a sense of dramatics almost as flashy as Zeus, Hebe gets away for a while to rainbow-call the King of Gods and report on her findings. You can't rainbow-call in Hades, except in Persephone's garden, Nico knows, but apparently someone told Hebe about it, and Nico is pretty sure even Hades doesn't know about it – so it's probably Hermes.

Chaos and Thanatos get distracted by Zagreus, because when don't they; Orpheus claims he has inspiration for a new song and disappears; and the four half-bloods are left alone with Achilles. The Hero tells them of the chthonic gods a little, explaining how things work at the House of Hades – and Zagreus' unique role in slaying everyone in the kingdom and wrecking havoc on a daily basis. Then Percy makes the mistake of asking about Patroclus, because Percy is a bi disaster and hasn't read the Iliad despite knowing that sometimes getting his facts straight could get him out of some pretty tight spots. Achilles closes down and bids them farewell. Sensing something wrong, the three chthonic deities approach them, and react with the same "ah" of disillusioned understanding when they explain what happened. Nico is pretty sure he hears Zagreus mutter something akin to 'ought to do something about that' before Chaos is swaying them towards some other aisle of the house.

So Nico thinks that this is mostly going well, because nothing has really happened yet, but he has learned not to be optimistic and knows that as soon as something will start happening, everything will descend into chaos and he has no idea in what they'll be getting roped this time, because four full-fledged Gods are involved, and that bodes nothing good.

Then Hermes flies in, going straight for Hebe, and turns to the others like he has to announce them they're going to Tartarus. The other three Gods wouldn't exactly care, but Nico minds that he's still pretty mortal, and the anxious pit in his stomach seems to be growing by every second Hermes stays silent.

"So, we think Chaos is trying to reform where Gaia originally dispelled it, in Morocco."

"Them," Chaos interject, from behind Thanatos, and Hermes looks at them like he isn't paid enough for this – which he probably isn't. Who would be paying him for it?

"I use the pronouns they/them, not it." Chaos explains, and Hermes just stares at them.

"Is it technically you, though?" Zagreus asks, and Chaos looks like they're going to launch in some convoluted explanation, so Hermes nips it in the bud.

"Right. In Morocco. You're all going to Morocco. I'm not taking you. You can take the scenic route with Apollo, or I'm sure Hades can pay for your plane – does it count as work expenses?"

"Or, I can just teleport us," Thanatos remarks, but Hebe and Percy both look like they're going to vomit, so that's out.

"Also, I can't take the plane," Percy adds. "Being Zeus' sphere and all."

"Scenic route it is!" Hermes claps his hands, looking far too delighted for it to look remotely real.

"I'm sure we can figure out something faster," Zagreus tries, but no one is listening, everyone having split up in smalls chattering groups. Hermes hands Hebe some Tupperware, and he's off. Hebe looks up from her Tupperware, looking completely lost, and Zagreus pats her shoulder sympathetically. Gods and their weird boons.

"What about a boat?" Percy asks. "Can we make Hades pay for a boat?"

"Dude, I can't take the boat, Neptune's gonna kill me," Jason remarks from behind him.

"I'm pretty sure it's only Zeus' thing to kill children just because he doesn't like their parents," Annabeth objects, and Hebe dissolves in a fit of giggles.

"It's okay," Thanatos says, "you're with us. We're minor gods, but gods nonetheless. Zeus won't intervene if you're with us."

"You think he won't, or he can't?" Annabeth asks warily.

"No, he can't, especially since we're carrying out a prophecy." Chaos explains. "Also, I'm not a minor god, Than, what the fuck."

"Plane would be faster, right?" Zagreus muses aloud, and Percy shudders.

"Can we – not? Please no plane."

Zagreus looks like he wants to object, but Thanatos sets a hand in the curve of his back, and let Chaos do the talking.

"Honestly, I could just shift us, but I don't want to risk losing some bits and parts on the way."

The half-bloods turn green in comedic synchronisation.

"Boat it is, then! Zag, love, care to draw us a quotation?"

"Man, more paperwork, we should use this as a punishment in Tartarus."

"We already do." Thanatos notes, impassive.

Percy chokes on a laugh, and after that, things are a little blurry.

Honestly, at this point, Nico figures he's mostly there as a lamp. Just, replace him with a lamp, that ought to have the same usefulness as him on this expedition. Zagreus bought them tickets on a ferry straight to Morocco, and then they have to figure out where exactly in the mountain range lays the liminal space between Earth, Heaven and Hell. Nothing noteworthy happens on the trip, if you forget about Chaos, Thanatos and Zagreus frolicking around like teenagers, Hebe mostly panicking about mortals, Jason spending way too much time on the phone, and at some point Chaos apparently burns down the train, but it's in an alternate universe, so they're all good. One of the many advantages of traveling with Gods, Nico supposes, is that monsters stear clear from them. With infinite light and food materialising from nothing.

The Atlas mountains look like a stairway to the skies, and Nico is pretty sure that's probably where Aeolus and his winds live, because nothing in the new world seems worthy of such ethereal perfection. Chaos takes a look at the map of the mountains, and point apparently at somewhere random, and none of them question it, as they prepare for the trek.

So they're going, and even though they've fought a lot, only Annabeth can keep up with the actual gods – Nico is far behind, his body having never grown past the stage of fragile zombie. Chaos ends up carrying him, and Nico isn't sure how he feels about both Death Incarnate and the God of Blood being jealous of him. Overall, they take it slow so Jason and Percy can keep up, and Nico can tell Hebe isn't displeased by this, because she looks like she hasn't done sports a day in her life.

They talk a lot along the way. Nico tells Chaos about how he has to contact Zagreus for him to contact Thanantos when he wants to contact Chaos and it's a bit of a pain, and Chaos tells him they're probably going to make something akin to a bell of death when they come home. Nico muses about getting a bell of death himself, and Chaos stops to look at him, surprised he doesn't have one already.

"Why don't you ask Thanatos for one?"

"I don't know, sometimes I figure they don't even realise I exist, right? Like, I'll be dead in fifty years, and they've been around for literal millennia…"

"You know, I've befriended mortals before, too. Yes, it's short, but it stays, we don't forget, like anyone else we befriend. Plus when you'll die you'll end up in Hades, of course they'll hang out."

"Aren't you supposed to forget who you are when you die?"

"Depends. But you're Hades' son. I'm sure they'll figure something out."

Annabeth and Percy talk a lot with Chaos too, about the cosmogony and stuff, and Jason tries to follow some discussions but he mostly gets headaches. Nico likes Jason, he's fun, and not as an airhead as Percy. They talk a lot about LGBTQIA+ stuff, especially how representation differs depending on where they go, and end up exchanging contacts.

Zagreus and Thanatos are sickeningly cute and Nico really wishes he didn't care, but honestly, he's happy for them.

Nico talks a lot with Annabeth too, she's very interested in how the Underworld works. Annabeth is interested by anything, truth be told, but it's fun to tell someone that genuinely cares about the life he has in Hades. He can't take Will there, and anyway Will would spend his life worrying if he knew. Honestly, Nico is hardly more than a glorified messenger, but a messenger to the Furies isn't exactly the safest job. Nico relates to Hermes so much on a spiritual level, they should start a club or something.

(To be honest, Nico is on friendly terms with the Messenger God, and they hang out a lot in the lounge when he comes visit the underworld – that's how Nico learnt about Charon's love life, and he wishes he could unhear all of that.)

Chaos is guiding them through the rare intersections they come across, seemingly knowing where parts of themselves are gathering, Nico supposes. They camp in the mountains for a while, meet with some Berbers – Chaos choosing to take a more humane appearance, even though the mist would have hidden them. Zagreus requests a woman with dreadlocks, Thanatos says he doesn't care if there is dark skin involved –arguing that the contrast with both Zagreus' and his ivory pale skins is simply too aesthetic to pass. The Gods surprise the locals by knowing the language, but they are all very welcoming and eager to share culture and information. It turns out the peak Chaos is guiding them to has been giving off bad omen vibes to the locals, and their expedition is vividly discouraged from trying to reach it.

Of course it only confirms they're on the right track.

So when they reach it, no one is overly surprised to see another Chaos waiting for them, pale ivory limbs a stark contrast with the chocolate tones their Chaos hasn't yet changed from. This new Chaos seems particularly delighted to see Thanatos, barely sparing a glance to Zagreus and the others.

"Great, Thanatos! I was waiting for you."

"Hi, Chaos."

They all wait nervously, not knowing what they're supposed to do or say, until the new Chaos tilts their head in surprise.

"You're not going to kill me?"

There is silence for a while, and they all exchange nervous glances.

"… No?" Thanatos tries, a questioning look of his own. "Unless you want us to?"

"Yes, please yes," begs Chaos, all but leaping towards Thanatos, desperation clear in their movements. "Make it stop, please, Death, set me free, make it stop, make it end, please please please…" They all but break down in Thanatos' arms, crying openly, ugly tears streaming down their face. Understanding dawns on the group at once, and they gather around this Chaos, Zagreus and Thanatos murmuring calming sweetness around them, their Chaos patting this other Chaos in comforting gestures. Annabeth and Percy stand awkwardly to the side, not familiar enough with Primordial Entities breaking down to try and do something. Jason and Hebe are looking around the clearing, trying to figure out if there is enough space for the array, and Nico is trying to comfort Chaos too, mainly keeping an eye on the being in case they decide they'll just take Death themselves.

"But if you die, won't everything else die? Like, aren't you everything?" Nico asks, and regret it right away, because Thanatos looks like if Chaos doesn't kill him first, he'll do the job himself.

"… I guess," Chaos sighs, their sobs spacing out. "I don't really care though. It's like, existing while being nothing at all, just being conscious of the unbearable pain of try to get yourself back together, of parts of you so close, yet so far away, it just – what have I done to deserve that? Why would – I just want it to end, Death, I just want the pain to stop."

Zagreus is nodding frantically, and Chaos looks like they're going to cry – because they've been through the same pain, they're the same, after all. Thanatos is soothing the Chaos in his lap, caressing their heads and murmuring promises of freedom. He tells them about the array, and the other Chaos, and that they don't have to die, they can be okay again, and that he's so sorry for their suffering, and he wishes he'd known about it earlier. At this point, Chaos shushes him, telling him there's no way he could have known, since they didn't know themselves. That's when the new Chaos realises there is another Chaos. They look at each other, so different yet so alike, like shards of the same mirror.

Chaos tells them again about the array Hecate has been making, and the other Chaos just stares, until they nod tiredly.

"If it doesn't work," they still ask, "will you kill me still?"

Thanatos looks at Zagreus, and back at Chaos, and nods, just once. He averts his eyes, his lines hardening, and Zagreus takes his hand in silence. Percy, Annabeth and Jason make the array, because they're half-bloods, and Hebe does the magic, because her ichor is the purest of all of them. The array turns blue, the bluest neon they've ever seen, and both Chaos start screaming out from inside the circle. Thanatos is frantically going over their notes, and Nico is trying to stabilise the magical flux – it isn't going well, but he's the only one that does even a little magic. Then the light turns black, except it isn't light anymore, it's some kind of infinite black that traps the light and absorbs it, and Nico feels like his face is being pulled from him, but he vaguely remembers the black being a good sign. At this point, Thanatos and Zagreus join the array to act as anchors, and Thanatos is simply howling from the pain. Zagreus' mouth is open on a silent scream, but maybe there is just too much wind from the magic and Nico can't hear him.

They the magic ceases, and the screams stop, and Chaos is dead.

There is only one body in the array, some kind of pooling limbs in the same light-absorbing light from the array, the same unnatural void from Chaos' eyes, like someone cut a hole in reality, and they're dead. Nico know this, because he can sense death, and Thanatos must know it too, because he isn't moving. Zagreus is rushing to the form on the floor, and everyone else is completely still, and Nico can only think 'well, there goes that prophecy. The blue light, and the final breath, it's completed.' And he can't even stand again, because they can't have done this for nothing, Chaos isn't even a god, they're the Infinite Void, the Everything from which the universe sprang, they can't die from a little magic.

Speaking of the universe, it hasn't collapsed, which might be a good sign.

Nico tries to focus on his breathing, and changes of position to be somewhat more comfortable, and then Zagreus falls into the hole.

Wait, what?

Thanatos lets out a strangled cry of 'Zag- !' and he's rushing to the hole and the limbs aren't limbs, and there is a hole in reality, and death doesn't feel like death anymore. And then Zagreus stumbles out from the hole, and Jason and Percy are helping him out and Thanatos is desperately looking in the void, and suddenly the void is moving. It's moving, compressing, shrinking, and even though it all looks the same - infinitely empty - it's changing, it's shaping up and down, and then the hole is popping out. And it feels like everything at once – death, and life, and love and hate and jealousy and doom and destiny and everything feels right again. No one has said a word yet, and the void is changing like a chameleon, and then the familiar ivory limbs and the swirls of colors that don't exist – and they're crying, and they're kissing, and Thanatos looks like he doesn't want to ever let go, and Zagreus looks like he's never going let go at all. Hebe is looking at them warily from a distance, and Annabeth and Jason look moderately affected, while Percy his bawling his eyes out.

The light is so clear, like the air is made of tiny crystals, and the clearing seems to be basking in cold warmth of the distant sun. Both its yellow fire and the blue of the sky are so pale they're almost the same shade of white, the clearest, purest white flowing around them.

"Zag", Chaos croaks out, "Than…"

Great, now even Nico is crying.

"Ae," Zagreus breathes, like the name alone can fix everything. Thanatos echoes him with a broken 'Chaos' of his own, and they're falling to the floor, holding each other, and it must be pretty uncomfortable.

Somehow, they make it back. Hebe rainbow-calls Zeus, to let them know it's fine, they're fixed, everything's ok, Chaos is not ending the world, they're not overthrowing him. Percy, Annabeth and Jason wonder why they were even needed, and Percy objects that the one time a prophecy was relatively easy and no one died, are they really going to complain. Jason thinks it's going to come in handy later, like maybe Chaos holds debts of something, and Annabeth thinks along the same lines: this is the beginning of something. When they come back on Olympus, Apollo assures them that he's pretty sure that's not the case, and that maybe what really counts isn't the journey but the friends we make along the way. Nico snorts, and is saved from an impending doom by Thanatos telling him Hades wants him as an ambassador again – so basically, Nico is going to ambassade Hades ambassading Nico, and that's pretty fun.

Hebe looks like she had fun too, and Heracles – who's apparently Hebe's husband, who knew – looks delighted that his wife had an epic adventure of her own. He greets them personally, and Annabeth looks like she's going to swoon – and let's be honest, Heracles is a sweet guy, funny and with the same look in his eyes as Nico: once broken, now even his haunted smiles hold some joy – he's happy, and it made him a better person. Love can do that sometimes.

Speaking about love, Aphrodite is delighted to meet Chaos, Thanatos and Zagreus at once. It's only when Zagreus stumbles in the middle of the reception that Nico realises Thanatos hasn't let go of him since the beginning of the trip and – oh yeah, Zagreus can't leave Hell, lest he dies, right? He must be in so much pain now, with only Thanatos and Chaos to regenerate his… his need of Hell, Nico guesses.

Aphrodite says something like "you guys really have found the right people, huh," and Nico isn't the only one that kind of want to punch her in the face if the look on Thanatos' face is anything to go by.

They go home, and Chaos is a bit different. It takes a while to get used to, but they all knew it, no one is blaming them, obviously. They try out different skins, too, and the pink-stripped yellow one must have been the worst; until they settle on a nice deep blue, the color of Thanatos' eyes. Zagreus pouts a little just for show, because even he admits his green and red, even separately, are horrendous on Chaos' skin. Also, Chaos seems to have developed a taste for dreadlocks, and even though Hades belittles it on principle, they all know he likes it. Not that they care about his opinion.

Nyx is bizarrely relieved to welcome them back home, until Nico remembers Chaos is technically her father, Thanatos her son, and Zagreus almost her adoptive son. But she even hugs him, and he finally allows himself to cry a little – this adventure was probably the best one, and he's been through so, so much worse, but that doesn't mean all that stress and anxiety aren't valid.

And for the next council, where Nico will be going as Hades' ambassador again, he can only hope there isn't a new prophecy, because prophecies suck, even if you do make great friends along the way.

**Author's Note:**

> That's it! I probably won't do any follow-up, but I like the universe so I might write some other short stories in it. I just wanted to write some cute poly in greek mythology, how did this happen...
> 
> For those interested: Zagreus has a personnal feud with Theseus, so that's what Achilles' joke is about. Yes, I absolutely ship Achilles and Patroclus, I like their dynamics in Hades. Likewise, I like Hermes' and Charon's dynamic in the game, and I kind of ship them? Against my will? And Zagreus calls Chaos Ae because he gives random surnames to everyone, fight me.
> 
> The Tupperware might get a side-story at some point.
> 
> Wow, thanks for the kudos everyone! This is making me so happy aha :)


End file.
